Dog tail stays up

Question
Our 9 year old female golden retriever is pointing her tail to the sky as of yesterday ... very bizarre ... she seems ok otherwise ... we've never seen her do this before ... the tip of her tail is actually pointed straight up and with all her fluff it is quite a site.  She won't bring it down at all. Any ideas???

Answer

Hi Chelsea,

Knowing what activities your dog was doing the day before she began holding her tail in this odd way, would be helpful. If she had a particularly active day (especially if she's not used to a lot of running etc. or is out of shape) she might have sore tail muscles.

Dogs are pretty stoic about showing pain. If your dog had a minor injury to her tail she might not seem to be in pain. Holding her tail in an odd way could be your only clue that she's uncomfortable.

The puzzling thing is that your dog is carrying her tail up high, rather than letting it hang as a dog with a tail injury usually does. Some dogs with a tail injury will hold their tail horizontally outwards from their body, and have the end of the tail drop down (like a pencil that is not quite broken into two pieces). Perhaps your dog's odd tail posture along those lines.

If your dog seems to be doing more in the way of pacing around, or acts like she just can't find a comfortable place to lay, those would be other signs that she's in some pain. You could try giving your dog buffered adult aspirin or baby aspirins, and also apply a heating pad to her tail.
For a 48 lb. dog, give 3/4 buffered adult aspirin or 3 baby aspirins (240 mg) twice a day.
For a 64 lb. dog, give 1 buffered adult aspirin or 4 baby aspirins (320 mg) twice a day.
For an 80 lb dog, give 1 1/4 buffered adult aspirin or 5 baby aspirins (400 mg) twice a day.

If the dog has relief with a smaller dosage, that is great. You should not give your dog such products as Tylenol as a substitute for real buffered aspirin. Always give food with the aspirin. Discontinue aspirin use if your dog starts to refuse food, or shows signs of an upset stomach.

I'm sorry but the best I can suggest is, if she's still holding her tail in the odd way in a couple of days call your vet's office and see if they recommend having her examined.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti